Bonfire Night

Bib:

Remy returns to the mansion after a thieving job gone wrong, only to find the mansion split in two.

Story:

A late job the night before had Remy sleeping in late. It was a searing hot jolt up his arm that was hanging off the side of the bed that woke him up. The jolt quickly vanished, but he was left feeling as if his arm had cramp in it. He squeezed his fist, reckoning that he'd simply overused his powers last night seeing how he'd ended up getting into a messy situation.

When he did eventually enter the kitchen to retrieve some coffee and breakfast, he had no idea what he was walking into. At least, not when it came to Jubilee.

"You'll be there tonight won't you Remy?" Jubilee asked before he even grabbed his first cup of coffee.

"Hmm?" Remy questioned while reaching for the coffee jug.

His eyes searched the kitchen, looking for anyone to clue him in. Unfortunately, there was no one around.

"For my bonfire display? It's starting tonight at seven. It's a little early, I know, but Logan's, like, such a grouch with these things. Sure, he'll let everyone else go out to a fireworks performance that finishes after curfew but forget it if you actually wanna do one here," Jubilee went on.

Remy was hardly able to take in what the yellow coat was saying to him. He picked up on her annoyance and irritation perfectly, but as to the cause of it, he wasn't quite sure. He just assumed it had something to do with Logan not letting her stay up till the early hours of the morning like him, but he didn't much care if that was the case.

"Honestly petite, I can't even remember mon prénom right now, so 'fraid y' gonna have t' wait a little pour votre réponse," Remy said, deciding to skip out on the food and simply take cover for the time being while he woke up.

As he left the kitchen, he spotted Logan heading his way. Quickly, Remy tried ducking out of sight and out of the area, waiting to avoid a confrontation.

"I know your there gator bait and we're gonna have words," Logan said.

Remy sighed to himself, cursing the Wolverine's nose. Remy stepped out from the shadows, smirk on face and said: "Pleasant words, I presume.," Remy said, knowing they weren't going to be anything of the sort.

"You near blow-up half of New York last night," Logan grunted, obviously not impressed with Remy's sense of humour.

"Never took you for the dramatic type," Remy responded, knowing full well that he didn't blow up half of New York. Just a large block of flats that were deserted and a crain that was on sight. If there was anything else he blew up last night, it was nothing bigger than those two.

"Chuck's office, now!" Logan demanded, pointing Remy towards the Professor's office.

Remy kept his eye roll in and headed towards the Professor's office like a good little boy. In there, he explained to Logan, Ororo, Hank and the Professor how he ran into a little trouble last night and things got a little heated. He didn't mention how he had run into an independent thief with a mechanic arm who actually got there before him, causing him to have to go to battle with the robot man in order to get his commission back. Besides, the Professor had already stated he didn't want to know the details when he went on a heist.

"I can understand that you believe you were backed into a corner where using your abilities was the only way out, however, you must be able to understand from my perspective why I cannot allow that type of activity to happen. If your antics are to be linked back to the X-Men, it would cause a lot of issues and many of the mutant residents here would suffer,"

"Mon antics huh? Doubt you'd be sayin' that if One Eye was responsible," Remy said, rather irritated at the telling off he was receiving.

"Actually, I have had many words with Scott about the use of his powers in public and various other mutants," the Professor said, raising his own eyebrow at Remy. "Remy, I am not trying to punish you for doing what you believe was best. As mentioned in the past, I do not mind you continuing the lifestyle you wish to maintain before you joined the X-Men as long as we do not know the details of your activities that are usually illegal and so long as you do not bring any trouble back with you. Although, with this recent heist you have been on, it has attracted quite some attention and all I am asking of you at this moment is to remain low and inactive for sometime. You cannot think my request is unreasonable?" asked the Professor.

Remy's face said nothing, but inside, he was grimacing. When moments like this reared their head, he wished he was back with the thieves' guild. At least there, he would be being praised for the show of his powers. Not having his ear chewed off like now. But, he knew his place with the X-Men and what the lines were. He nodded his head and was eventually excused.

As Remy left the Professor's office in a foul mood, it wasn't long before Jubilee found him again.

"Remy, there you are!" she blurted out, running after him until she was in front of him. "So, about tonight, I'm so totally gonna light up the night! You're not gonna wanna miss it!

"Petite, I'm not in the mood-" Remy tried to say as he was halted by her.

As Remy tried to sidestep Jubilee, she moved in front of him once again.

"Oh, but your gonna love it! Your favourite colour's red right? I'm so totally gonna be letting off-"

"I just said I ain't in the mood!" Remy sternly snapped, bringing Jubilee to a halt. As Remy made his way around her, he muttered off in French: "Vissez votre spectacle de feux d'artifice stupide!"

As Remy disappeared down the hallway, Rogue had just stepped into the mansion foyer in time to hear the Cajun's rage and see Jubilee left near tears.

Xxxxx

Remy was a hard man to find when he didn't want to be found. Unfortunately for him, Logan's nose was just that good.

"You finished sobbin' yet?" Logan asked from the doorway to the library. He couldn't see Remy, but he knew he was in the library.

No one was in the library today since it was bonfire night. Hiding down one of the aisles with a bottle of rum had seemed like a good until he had been caught. Remy threw his head back, hitting some of the books behind his head.

"You sleep walkin' again Monsieur Claws?" he conversed back.

"Take that as a no," Logan said at Remy's remark. "Well, when your done mopin' in 'ere, you owe Jubilee an apology. The kid didn't deserve the lashin' you gave her when she was tryna be nice."

"Shoulda listened de first time I said non," Remy retorted back.

Remy heard a low growl of irritation before anything else.

"Rogue's also lookin' for ya. She wants a word with you too," Logan said.

Remy couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. His mind went straight to assuming that Rogue was going to be yelling at him for the explosions last night or Jubilee or both and he didn't need to here it.

"So send her mon way," Remy said.

"I ain't stupid Cajun. I know you'll just send her on a wild goose chase, and so does she which is partly the reason why she isn't with me. Just go talk to her already and stop being a wuss," Logan said before leaving the room.

Xxxxx

After finishing what was left in the bottle of rum he'd stashed in the library, Remy did eventually go in search for Rogue. He still reckoned Rogue was going to have a go at him, but he couldn't help but think there might be something else she needed to talk about. She didn't seek him out much after all so it had him curious. He just hoped he wasn't being played by the Wolverine into coming out of his comfy spot or something.

He found Rogue in her room, reading once again.

"Bonsoir chérie," Remy said from her doorway. "Heard you be wantin' to see dis here Cajun."

Rogue lifted her head out of her book and looked towards her doorway.

"Are you drunk?" Rogue asked him.

Remy didn't bother hiding his disappointment in Rogue's statement as his eyes moved to glare across the other side of the room from her.

"Pas de momie, an' Hank's fur ain't blue," Remy said sarcastically.

Rogue frowned deeply at Remy's comments, then picked up her book and lay back down on her bed.

"Okay," was all she said before she began reading where she left off.

This got Remy's attention as he looked at her as if she'd just done the oddest thing in front of him.

"Pardon," Remy asked.

"Ah said okay," Rogue said, still not taking her eyes off her book.

Remy stepped a little into Rogue's room at this point, feeling utterly lost at what he was hearing.

"Okay? That all?" he asked.

"Until your actually ready ta talk, then yeah. Go find another bottle ta drown your sorrows in," Rogue said, still never looking up from her book.

Remy just stood in Rogue's room, watching her read. Her face seemed unmoved, but he noticed the tiniest little frown in the corner of her lip. She was upset or annoyed over something. He gathered that it was himself, but he couldn't be too sure. He hadn't been around her for the past two days after all and anything could have happened to upset her. He didn't want to just walk away from that if something had happened to upset her that he didn't know about because he wasn't here. He was sure she was baiting him, but like an idiot, he couldn't deny the bait. He made his way across the room and sat on the edge of Rogue's bed by her feet.

"What's troubin' y' chére?" he asked gently.

Rogue glanced up at Remy from behind her book. Her eyes firm.

"No more sarcastic remarks?" Rogue asked.

Remy lifted his hand and placed it over his heart.

"J'essaierai," he said.

Frowning, Rogue closed her book and placed it on her bedside table.

"Ah heard your heist didn't go so well last night," Rogue said, reaching down to open the lowest draw in her bedside table.

He knew it! Remy rolled his head away from facing Rogue, waiting for her to get on with it and just yell at him.

"And what 'bout it?" Remy asked when he didn't hear a response from Rogue.

"Well," she said, pulling out a brown paper bag from her bedside table and bringing it to be in her lap. "Ah was plannin' on findin' ya earlier an' was gonna suggest we get drunk while watchin' some fireworks."

Remy glanced at the item Rogue pulled out of the bag. It was a bottle of Jack Daniels and once what she said clicked in his head, he actually let a little smile cross his face as he stared at the bottle.

"Had to spend the mornin' bribin' Logan ta help meh get this. Had to chop up some fire wood for tonight while he went an' got it for meh and agree to runnin' a danger room session with him tomorrow mornin', but ah thought you could use some cheerin' up seein' how ya always try cheerin' me up when ah'm down," Rogue said.

Remy's smile only grew at what he was hearing until he saw that Rogue's face had fallen slightly.

"Then ya went off in a huff an' started drinkin' anyway, so ah guessed ah'd save this for another time when ya were actually ready ta start talkin' to people again," Rogue said, returning the bottle to the bag and going to place the bag back in her side table.

Remy's hand shot out and grabbed Rogue's wrist before she could put the bottle away.

"Non," he said, finally letting his eyes raise to meet hers. "That sounds nice," he said, realising his grip on Rogue's wrist.

He hadn't been expecting anything like this from Rogue. He wished he'd ran into her earlier during the day and that she'd made her offer then. It would have made things a lot easier than the day he'd had so far if she had.

"Merci Rogue," he said.

The tension in Rogue's body that she didn't know she had eased as she saw Remy smile at her. She didn't realise she was actually so nervous about showing kindness to him, but then again she guessed it was just because she wasn't used to being upfront with this sort of stuff. His smile was only a little one, but it said so much to her. She reckoned Remy had been beating himself up since last night when it came to the heist so to see a small smile on his lips at her offer made her feel like she'd done the right thing.

"Come on," Rogue said, taking the bottle with her and moving towards her balcony window.

Remy watched her go, curious. Then followed after her. He gave Rogue a boost when she jumped up and grabbed at the roof. Remy supported her feet as she pulled herself up. He didn't need much help getting up there himself seeing as he didn't have a bottle in his hand he was trying not to break. While they were up on the roof, he followed Rogue to the other side of the roof and watched her take off the trench coat he'd bought her and lay it down flat. He watched her take a seat on it then glance back at him, expectedly. Remy took his seat beside her on her coat, feeling a little guilty that she was using it as a picnic blanket. If he'd had known she was planning to do that, he would have offered his coat seeing how it was older and more beaten up. Rogue didn't seem to mind using her coat though and once he was sat beside her, she looked off to the mansion grounds. Remy looked with her, seeing Jubilee and a few other mutants sat down outside by a bonfire that Logan was bringing more wood to.

"Ah reckon ah owe ya an apology," Rogue said, not meeting Remy's eyes.

This baffled him. He watched Rogue seeing the blush raise up her neck once again even in the night light.

"Ah wanted to reach ya before Jubilee or Scott did to give ya a heads up about what's been goin' on 'round here while ya've been away," she said.

Remy shrugged his shoulders, not seeing where an apology was needed.

"So, what I be missin'?" Remy asked.

"You didn't miss much," Rogue said, lifting her head again. "Just the start of an argument. Jubilee and Scott had an argument about what everyone should do for bonfire night. Jubs wanted everyone to stay here and watch her show off her powers seeing how they look like fireworks. Scott didn't want to stick around for another year of Jubs fireworks though. He gathered some people to go to a fireworks display downtown," Rogue explained.

"Why'd he do that?" Remy asked, guessing there was a reason.

"He said that he didn't want to get set on fire again like last year. Jubs set off one too many sparks and one caught Scott's jumper. He had to jump into the pool to put out the flames," Rogue said.

Remy laughed heartily at that.

"Wish I'd had been there," he said.

"Yeah, thought you'd get a kick outta that story," Rogue admitted. "Jubs took Scott wanting to go see professionals letting off fireworks the wrong way and it turned into this whole side takin' thing. The thing which ah wanted ta warn ya about before Jubs or Scott got to ya, but turns out ah was too slow and Jubs beat meh to it."

"Not your fault," Remy said, simply shaking the whole thing off mainly because he didn't like to see Rogue upset with herself. Honestly, he would have preferred the heads up, but he didn't blame her.

"So you chose Jubilee's side?" Remy asked, guessing that's why they were sat on the roof instead of heading off with Scott and the others.

Rogue snorted at that.

"Ah didn't pick a side an' ah told em where ta shove it when they both told meh ah had to," Rogue said.

Remy chuckled at that, expecting nothing less from her. He kind of wished he'd been there to see her shut them down. He guessed it would have made his run in with Jubilee easier as well if he'd been around to learn about the whole split that was happening with the mutant residents and which side Rogue was taking considering he would only have cared about her answer. It was just a shame Rogue wasn't the first person he saw. He reckoned he'd have to make it so whenever he did come back from a heist, he saw Rogue first. That was a pleasant idea and something he could definitely do.

His eyes fell back down to Jubilee who had stood up and moved to stand in front of her small audience. The older X-Men members were present and so were a few of the younger students.

"Ah heard what ya said ta Jubs when she was askin' ya ta come to her display," Rogue said, her voice sounding gentle. "Ah get Jubs can be annoyin' an' pushy at times and ya didn't know 'bout everythin' goin' on, but ah don't think ya snapped up at her just 'cause she was bein' a pest."

Rogue said, now looking at him. When Remy said nothing, Rogue took the lid off the Jack Daniel's and held out the bottle to Remy.

"A drink for your thoughts?" she asked.

Remy took the bottle out of her hand and took a swig of the bitter liquid.

"She caught mon comin' out from a two-hour long meetin' wit' de Professor," Remy explained.

Rogue nodded her head in understanding.

"He give ya the safety lecture?" she asked.

"Ouais. Said I be endangerin' everyone here by usin' mon powers. Said he knows what I did ain't legal an' he dun't agree wit' what I do even though he still took moi in knowin' I weren't gonna stop," Remy said, taking another drink and expecting to hear Rogue turn defensive.

"Ah don't reckon he said that last bit. At least, not in that way. But the first part, ah definitely believe he said," Rogue admitted, reaching out to take the bottle of Jack's for herself and have a drink.

Remy glanced away from Jubilee who had started her little show and now glanced at Rogue.

"You t'ink I be endangerin' everyone when I use mon powers? Dat be hypocritical, don't you t'ink? Of both you an' your Professor," Remy said bitterly.

Rogue frowned, not liking how Remy's words seemed to be an attack on her.

"Ah didn't say that. What ah was gettin' at is, well, it ain't wrong for us to use our powers out in the open. Not when we're helpin' people an' people can see that so they know they've not got anythin' ta fear from us. But, when they're used as a weapon or carelessly, then it becomes a bad thing," Rogue said.

"So y' t'ink I've been un idiot?" Remy asked.

"Ah didn't say that!" Rogue near snapped. "But from what was bein' shown on TV, it didn't look good. Luckily, it was played off as some sorta dodgy gas leak or somethin', but the Professor knew it was you an' he was fearin' the worse as ya can imagine. Especially without hearin' your side'a things," Rogue tried to explain.

"Even then, I bet he still be t'inkin' the worse," Remy said, going to take another drink.

Rogue ripped the bottle out of Remy's hands before he could have another drink and kept her eyes trained on him.

"Yes, he still woulda been worried 'cause there ain't just you who's in the firin' line here Remy!" Rogue hissed at him.

"So he said," Remy responded.

"An' you don't care?" Rogue asked, her voice raising in pitch.

"Like ya said, it was told as a burst pipe. Nothin' t' worry 'bout," Remy said.

Rogue glanced away from Remy, her eyes falling down onto Jubilee and Bobby and Ray and all the other kids who she knew had families waiting for them.

"Maybe not today. But what about the next time you're out on a job an' end up makin' a big mess with your powers? What if someone records ya and ties ya in with the X-Men? Then what?" Rogue asked.

Remy shrugged, moving to lay back slightly on the roof tiles until he could find a somewhat comfortable position. He knew his scolding from Rogue was coming. He reckoned he might as well get comfy while she chewed his ear off too.

"Then the Professor have t' come up wit' une histoire de couverture. Not like the X-Men ain't done it before," Remy said.

"Yeah, an' we all had ta go in ta hidin' then," Rogue shot back at him.

"So de X-Men have t' lay low for a few days till Wheels works his magic. It ain't the end of the world chére-"

"The last time somethin' like that happened, a whole buncha people got pulled outta the mansion ta go back home to their parents. Some didn't come back and other's were grateful they could," Rogue explained.

"But y' all still stay in contact. It can't be helped dat there be some protective parents out there," Remy argued.

"That's just it though, isn't it? Not all of us have parent's ta turn to," Rogue said, watching as the mutants below her laughed as Jubilee fell over and one of her fireworks was sent across the yard, almost hitting Logan.

Remy stared at the back of Rogue's head, taking in her words. He had a feeling this was less to do with the X-Men as a whole like she was making out and more to do with herself. He soon sat up so he could see her face a little better. She looked upset. Upset at more than just him setting off a few explosives.

"If this place was ever taken away from us, then some of us would be out on the streets Remy. We wouldn't have a roof over our heads or a bed to sleep in. Some of us wouldn't even be able to feed ourselves," Rogue said.

"Chére," Remy said, reaching his hand out and placing it on her back. "Y' know y' ain't ever gonna be left out on de streets?" He told her, wondering if her scolding before had been less to do with her being mad at him making a scene and more to do with her own insecurities. "Y' know de thieves will take y' in 'fore that ever happens."

Rogue snorted at that.

"Yeah, an' how long do ya reckon it'll take till ya papa starts wantin' ta fill mah head up with the assassin's memories, huh? Might as well go back ta the Brotherhood or join Magneto seein' how they all wanna use meh just for mah powers as well," Rogue said, taking a drink of the Jack's.

Remy moved closer to Rogue, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he pulled her in. He knew he was right. This was to do with Rogue feeling abandoned and less to do with his most recent job. This, he could handle.

"Rogue, I won't ever leave y' on de streets, y' hear me girl?" Remy asked, using two of his gloved fingertips to turn Rogue's head slightly so she was facing him.

"And if you were hurt?" Rogue asked him quietly.

Remy remained still for a time, not expecting that. Rogue didn't look all teary eyed and like she was about to fall apart, but she did look sad. It only registered with him that she might have been worried he'd been hurt or worse after watching the news about the explosions. He wondered why she never called him if she was that worried. To check to see if he was still alive. He would have answered and confirmed her fears weren't true, although, he guessed him not picking up the phone to the Professor when he called the first seven times might of added to the reason. But he would have picked up to her. He guessed Rogue had her own reasons for not calling. He didn't know if her not calling fell down to her having faith in him or wanting to deny the possibility that he might have been dead for as long as she could.

"What if, the next time ya out on a job you get hurt and we're not there ta help ya, what then?" Rogue asked.

"Rogue," Remy said, moving his hand up into her hair so he could take a firmer grip on her as he spoke. "I promise you, no jewel be worth that. What your t'inkin', it ain't gonna happen," he said, a smirk appearing on his face as he spoke the next lines. "'sides, don't reckon I'd get off dat easy. Y'd probably find a way t' bring me back from de dead just t' kill me all over again. Then y'd share it wit' Tante an' Henri an' Merci and they'd all do the same."

Rogue snorted at that. She looked into Remy's eyes, seeing he was serious. She kept hold of them, making sure there was no hesitation when it came to his statement. There didn't seem to be. A half hearted smirk finally appeared on her face.

"You an' Logan's said the same thing ta meh. 'bout not abandonin' meh to the streets. Ah just hope it doesn't have ta come to that. As annoyin' as everyone can be here, ah'd rather not lose anyone," Rogue explained, glancing back down at the mutants below.

Remy dropped his hand and turned his head to watch with Rogue as Logan sat Jubilee down, telling her her performance was over and made a move to start setting off some actual fireworks.

Remy sighed inwardly as he let Rogue's fears and conclusions added up in his own mind.

"I guess I could be a little more carful next time I be out," Remy said, earning a small, appreciative smile from Rogue.

"Ah hope so," Rogue said as the beginning of a blush started to rise up her neck again. "After all, it ain't just bein' seen as destructive criminals we worry about here, ya know?"

Remy did click on to what Rogue was saying and his smirk grew larger. He pulled Rogue closer into his side, rubbing her arm affectionately as he did.

"Look Remy, ah ain't tryna have a go at ya. Whenever anyone does somethin' that might make us all seem chaotic and dangerous ah get worried. The Professor gets worried too. 'cause we're scared of what might happen. Ah know that what ya did, ya probably had a good reason for usin' ya powers. More reason than Bobby or Ray does when they decide to ice a floor for a joke or charge up a plug socket just to shock someone who stole the last pudding. But ah doubt the Professor knows why and ah'm sure if ya told him he'd ease up on ya," Rogue explained.

Remy tilted his head to the side. He was a little sick of the conversation, but now that he'd heard why Rogue was so concerned and knew that she wasn't just having a go at him because she thought he slipped up, he found taking in what she was saying easier. He did role over in his mind the advice she was giving him and pondered on whether to take it or not.

"He doesn't wanna know details of what happens on my heists," he explained.

"Ya know, ah don't think it'd be such a bad idea if ya were ta open up ta the Professor about what happened this one time. He doesn't know how good of a thief you are after all," Rogue said, a smirk appearing on her face.

Rogue's compliment brought back a small smile to Remy's face,

"And you do," he asked, glancing down into her eyes.

"Yes, ah have been on a heist with ya after all, but let's keep that 'tween us, alright?" Rogue said, taking another drink of the Jack's. "Don't want the Professor comin' down on both of us now, do we?"

"Non, I guess not," Remy said, taking the bottle of Jack's from Rogue and having another drink too.

"All that can wait 'til tomorrow though an' so can ya apology ta Jubs," Rogue said, watching Logan light the first three fireworks.

Remy playfully rolled his eyes at Rogue's demands, earning him a little shoulder nudge from her.

"In the meantime, ah'm guessin' ya got what ya went for?" Rogue asked, her eyes sparkling with expectance.

"Of course," Remy said, glad to hear the confidence Rogue had in her voice when it came to her belief that he could get the job done. That and the pride he felt in being able to finally admit to someone that he got the job done even with the difficult circumstances. When he was speaking with Rogue, it really did feel like he was back home getting the praise he'd wanted from the moment he'd walked through the X-Men mansion. Only, it felt a little bit sweeter getting that praise from Rogue. He really was a little taken back at how much praise Rogue was throwing him tonight. He didn't know Rogue had such a high opinion of him when it came to his skills as a thief. It was rather nice to hear.

The first three fireworks went up into the sky and Remy and Rogue watched as they exploded.

"Thought so," Rogue said, keeping her smirk as she watched the fireworks explode. "Ah don't know exactly what went down, but ah reckoned it was ta get the job done. Besides the explosions, did it go alright?"

"Oui. Ran in t' an old face, but I showed em I still be de best there is," Remy explained as he glanced back over to Rogue.

"So you had competition?" she asked.

"Always have competition. Just gotta stay on top. Only way t' do dat is t' keep thievin' an' showin' I still got de skills," Remy said, noticing that Jubilee had caught the sight of the pair of them sat on the roof.

Remy lifted his hand and waved down at Jubilee who smiled back and waved at him. Rogue caught Remy's line of sight and looked down to where Jubilee was sat with the boys. Jubilee had turned to get back up and try to continue with her performance. Rogue watched as Jubilee became faced by Logan once again, who was trying to get her to sit back down. It seemed there was a fire burning in Jubilee though as she refused to be beached as easily as last time.

Rogue, unconsciously, reached her arm out over her stomach and began rubbing her arm which had formed goose bumps underneath her thin mesh top. Remy noticed her movement and picked up on the fact that she was cold since she didn't have a coat on. Remy dropped his arm from around her temporarily as he took his coat off and wrapped the long side around the pair of them. Rogue was a little uncertain what he was doing, but didn't seem to be arguing with him when his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in closer to his body.

"Might of been a bonne idée t' sit down near de fire, non?" Remy said.

"But then we wouldn't get ta see all the fireworks," Rogue said, confusing Remy slightly. "Look," Rogue said as she pointed out into the distance.

Remy turned to see what she was seeing and saw a crescendoing form of fireworks going off in the middle of Bayville.

"That's where Scott and the others are," Rogue explained.

"You knew you'd be able t' see the display from up here?" Remy asked.

"Yeah. Who do ya think told Scott about the fireworks display?" Rogue asked.

Remy glanced back down at Rogue, still confused.

"So, you started the argument?" he asked.

"No, ah told Scott about where he could see some fireworks when he wouldn't stop complainin' 'bout Jubilee. But ah wasn't gonna tell him that he could stick around the mansion an' watch them from the roof though, was ah? Ah don't want everyone knowin' about this view an' takin' up all the space," Rogue explained.

Remy's smirk grew as he heard Rogue's explanation.

"Everyone excludin' moi?" he asked.

"Yeah, well, ah reckoned you were gonna find meh up here anyway an' keep mah secret spot when it comes ta watchin' fireworks," Rogue said, now glancing at him meaningfully.

Remy just chuckled.

"Y' already know the answer t' dat," Remy said, starting to remember why he was glad to be back with the X-Men.

"Yeah, ah do," Rogue said, turning her head to continue watching all the fireworks across Bayville go off.

Eventually, she tilted her head till it was resting on Remy's shoulder. Remy smiled down at Rogue, finding her cuddling up to his side more interesting than the firework displays. The disappointment from the past two days seemed to slip away from him as he held Rogue and drank the Jack's she'd got him to cheer him up while watching the fireworks.

xxxxx

French Translations

Petite - Little One

Mon Prénom - My First Name

Pour votre réponse - for your answer

Mon - My

Moi - Me

Vissez votre spectacle de feux d'artifice stupide! - Screw your stupid fireworks show!

Non - No

Bonsoir Chérie - Good Afternoon Darling

Pas de momie - No Mummy

J'essaierai - I will try

Merci - Thank you

Ouais - Yeah

Un idiot - An Idiot

Une histoire de couverture - A Cover Story

Oui - Yes

Bonne idée - Good Idea